Day 46

We had a discussion with the kids the night before about when we would get up and leave the hotel. They, of course, wanted to sleep in. We talked them into getting up early so we could have some time at our next stop instead. It was only 2 more days we would have Dave with us so I wanted to maximize our fun time for sure.

We dragged the kids out of bed to get down to breakfast when it started. We were mostly packed up so we knew it could be a quick exit. They got their normal crazy hotel carb overload and 30 minutes of tv before we were ready to go and searching for Grammie to say goodbye. She was spitting from us this morning so we wouldn't see her or Lola for 2 weeks.

Leaving by 8am we were hoping to get to our spot by late afternoon to be able to enjoy a few hours. We had a long drive today but thanks to Dave's research we had a few interesting stops along the way. Our first stop was the world's tallest thermometer. It is 134 feet tall to record the hottest temperature every recorded in Death Valley in 1913. It was a tough shot to get everyone and the thermometer! For the record it has to be 158 degrees outside to fry an egg.















Just a few minutes later we were in Nevada and getting back off the interstate for our next stop. It was bright and very hot but totally worth it! This was called the Seven Magic Mountains and is an art installation by artist Ugo Rondinone. As we approached I couldn't get over the contrast in the art and the landscape.

Of course the kids had to add their own rocks to the rock garden!

 Since we were so close to Las Vegas we decided to drive to the welcome sign and down the strip. Dave and I got engaged here after I ran one of my marathons and he's been back a few times since on the annual Clarke family trip. It was slow going with all the people but it was neat to see how much it has changed since I'd been there. The kids thought it reminded them a little of Times Square with all the huge stores and digital displays. We had to get a picture at the sign to send to Dave's brother since they are headed out here for good!



We dipped into the bottom of Utah and decided to stop at a local spot for pizza. If you are ever in St. George Utah stopping at 700 Degrees is a must - the pizza was delicious and the service was outstanding. The kids would probably say they enjoyed the unlimited small batch soda the best!

After another few hours of driving through the canyons and Kaibab National Forest we finally made it to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This is the place that started all these trips. Eight years ago I decided to take the kids to the Grand Canyon and ended up doing a whirlwind trip of 18 states in 32 days. I was excited to get back even for just a few days. Dave and I had visited the South Rim 17 years ago and I knew he'd enjoy the stark contrast of the North Rim.

We were able to steal a peek or two at the canyon but I wanted to save the full view for the next day on our hike to the lodge. After we set up we walked to the general store for a few things where Ryan found an interesting game that she wanted to buy with her trip money. By the time the kids ate it was too dark to play so we played a round of Squarrels instead.

The kids had brought giant glow sticks from home and finally decided to break them to light them up today. They wanted me to film a sword battle but it was so dark it would have just looked like two glow sticks dancing. Brayden had the idea to do some time lapse photography with them though that worked. I didn't even have to adjust the settings for time lapse since it was so dark the camera needed the time anyway.

The kids have been finding the numbers "222" everywhere since that will be our new address so that was the first success. Laney made a heart and Ryan made an infinity symbol too. Everyone was getting pretty grumpy by this point so I declared it bedtime. We had a whole new day tomorrow to explore, learn, and be together.          

Day 45

I woke up chilly this morning because we had the windows open for Brayden to have some fresh air. I noticed the quilt he had when he went to sleep was in between us so I recovered him and went into the car to write. I was hoping to get caught up on blog posts to not have to write to much the last few days before Dave leaves.

Dave looked like he wanted to get things going to leave but I climbed into the tent with the girls and told him we wouldn't be able to check in early at the hotel anyway so we stayed in the tent with them to chat for a little while. These days these conversations with them are few an far between with our schedules and their varied interests.

The kids had been looking forward to this next spot since I mentioned it in April. I was struggling with getting us across Death Valley without a 10 hour drive. There was no way I was going to camp there! So we ended up booking a hotel in Barstow for a night. Forget all the work I do daily for these guys on the trip, they just want to swim in a pool, sleep in a bed and gorge on free breakfast!

Brayden was smiling when he woke up and was hungry so that was a good sign. Before too long we were taking the 10mph hairpin turns south out of Sequoia National Park. Our first stop was Amphitheater Point - one of the CCC construction project. This spot had a lovely view of Morro Rock that we'd just climbed the day before. It looked quite a bit bigger from down here!

Next we stopped at Hospital Rock - a picnic area the CCC constructed but also a sacred place to the Potwisha as well as Native Americans before them. Here there were pictographs above the rock where the Potwisha had healed many people including several settlers in the area. There was also an area labled the "Community Kitchen" where Native Americans would grind acorns into meal to be used in different kinds of food. We'd seen this on several trails in California.

The girls were excited about seeing our next stop - Tunnel Rock. In the early days of the park people could drive under this rock. Today the road has been diverted around the rock but the girls still wanted to climb on top!

And of course no visit to a national park is complete without the photo at the entrance. We'd missed the small sign on our way in so we opted to stop for the way more interesting sign at the southern entrance!

Once we arrived at the hotel all the girls wanted to do was to see Lola and Grammie. We learned about their drive, Lola's refusal to pee in the southwest grassless islands, and her fear of elevators.  Poor Lola!

Dave was the first to shower and the kids washed their disgusting feet before putting on their swimsuits and heading to the pool. I put in a quick load of laundry in hopes it would be the last of our trip and took a much needed shower. I also plugged in all the things that needed reviving and prepped things for our early exit in the morning.

We had a Chili's about 50 feet from our front lobby so we opted for a quick dinner there instead of pizza. They don't have too much there for vegetarians but we found a few things to share and had our fill of chips and salsa.

The front desk upgraded us at check-in to a room that had a sofa bed so we were all able to claim bed space for the night. By the time I checked our route for the morning everyone was asleep so I decided to join them!

Day 30

Seeing the day number on today's post is crazy! I can't believe we've already been on the road for a month until I take a minute to think about all we've done. Then it seems like three months!

Today we were just trying to waste time until my car was expected to be ready so we stayed up late the night before watching gymnastics. The floor routines have always been my favorite and the kids chins dropped when they saw some of the things those girls did. Once the USA was winning gold and silver for sure we decided to call it a night.

We all slept in until way past 7 then headed down to breakfast. The kids had thirds again while I started laundry and packing. The kids came upstairs to catch up on their journals while I folded laundry and finished packing. The day before I'd reserved a factory tour for this afternoon Laney spotted, so after a quick stop at Walmart for more photos and snacks we were on our way.  Brayden wanted me to add this very neat soda display to the blog we saw.

As with all the tours we've done, there were no cameras allowed so I didn't get any pictures besides this one on the drive in!

Yep, we were touring another potato chip factory. Apparently this place is only in the mid-Atlantic states and has been since the 1960s. We learned all about the process of making pretzels, chips, and all the flavors they have and have tried over the years. We watched as thousands of pounds of potato chips rolled through 26 machines and straight to the bagging and boxing area.  The kids' favorite part was when we got to taste chips freshly made pulled right from the line. At first the kids were bummed they had to wait for everyone else since we were at the end of the line. That is until our guide handed me the tray and said we could finish the rest. You'd have thought my kids hadn't already had three breakfasts and a snack on the way. I felt like I was being attacked by vultures!

At the end of the tour everyone got two bags of chips and we were ushered into the gift shop. There were tons of bags of chips in there that were only 17 cents because of mislabeling or misweighing so we made sure to grab a few of those. After seeing the the pretzels being made we definitely wanted to pick up a bag of those and Brayden was very excited to taste all the wacky flavors like dill pickle, bacon, and ketchup.

With plenty of snacks for the road we headed to the dealership to pick up my car. I'd received a phone call earlier in the day to say it was ready but since I'd already scheduled the tour we decided to still go. It was a big pain to try to fit everything back in my smaller car once we'd gotten so spread out in the minivan, but we made it work.

When the rental car finally dropped us back off at my car we were finally off to our next spot - Wharton State Forest back in New Jersey.  Dave wanted to meet up with us on a weekend so we were basically just hanging out here until he flew in three days later.  We hit a bunch of traffic and roadblocks on the way so we didn't end up in the area until well after 7pm.  My gps and my phone were sending us all crazy places so we didn't end up getting there until 8:30.

The kids quickly set up the tent while I got some cereal for them for dinner. We were all excited to get back to ready together so as they ate I read two chapters of our book. It's getting better and all of us are enjoying it more.

I'd checked the weather before we left and the area was expecting some rain overnight so the kids brought some activities into the tent in case they couldn't sleep if there were thunderstorms. I'm not sure how she finagled this, but Ryan would be sleeping with me for the next three days after being with me the three days at the hotel. It was a good thing though with the storms coming.

Day 28

Today we slept in until 7:30 and had a hotel breakfast. It's the little things I appreciate when we've been on the road for so long! Now that Grammie's gone I'm back on my own for a week until Dave meets up with us so this is wonderful!  Have I mentioned my kids eat like horses? I think they all ate three separate breakfasts while we were sitting there. They love the ability to pick whatever they want for a change. They have such a tough life!

We got on the road to Valley Forge pretty early in order to make the first park ranger talk. It is usually a hike but with the heat everything outdoors was canceled for the day. We had to have a family meeting in the parking lot because of the tone and attitude the kids were giving each other as well as me. It seems we have reached the years where arguing is the first form of conflict resolution.

We walked in just as the talk was starting so the kids got an excellent introduction to the history and purpose of the park. We talked with another ranger afterward to get a map of the park as well as junior ranger books.  A favorite at most visitors centers is the movie about the park and this one did not disappoint. It gave more background about the park especially detailing the struggles of the soldiers residing in the encampment.

When the movie was finished the kids got to work on their junior ranger books. The excitement of completing all the activities is stressful for me as the only helper but the kids have learned a little bit of patience and a lot of teamwork can go a long way. They learned a lot about the life of the soldiers as well as the reasons why George Washington made the decisions he did.

They all were excited to see actual "pieces of eight" from several of the field trips we'd been on. Many of the colonists used these coins for currency before the country had established its own monetary system.

             


Once the kids completed the activities related to the displays we got on the road to the sites on the driving tour to learn a bunch more. Laney was my navigator once Brayden became completely oblivious to where we were. Not only did she do a fabulous job, she also read us the history about each stop!

The brigade huts were our first stop. These were reproductions of the original huts built in mere days on this same sight. Apparently, George Washington had offered a reward for the fastest hut built to standard when they arrived in December 1777. These huts housed up to 12 men through the entire winter. The kids couldn't even imagine living in that small space with just the four of us!




Not only were the living conditions very close, the encampment was rampant with disease and had serious problems with supply. Many of the soldiers were inadequately clothed and most were lacking sufficient nutrition. Even with all that, they marched out of Valley Forge in June and ended up occupying Philadelphia again and marching on to Yorktown.



Our next big stop was the National Memorial Arch to honoring then General Washington's arrival at Valley Forge. It was completed 100 years ago and is enormous!  See my little people down there?





















Our last and longest stop was George Washington's headquarters. A train station had been converted into a museum with great displays on the history of the headquarters since it was built in 1773. We were able to walk through the stable and the house to see replicas of the furnishings of the time period. The kids all agreed it was pretty cool to walk around the same house and up the same stairs that George Washington did more than 200 years ago.

We finished up our trip by stopping back by the visitor's center to turn in junior ranger books and take the pledge they almost have memorized!

On the way home we were treated to some major traffic issues. It took quite a bit longer than we expected to get home as I couldn't even go anywhere close to the speed limit!  About 5 miles and an hour later traffic started moving like normal with no reason for the delay.

We jumped in the pool when we got home to cool off.  The kids have been inspired by Michael Phelps to race each night. It's been so nice not to have to settle for tidbits and highlights this year!  

Day 27

I woke up with the sunrise to be sure not to miss Grammie leaving. It was a nice little sunrise on the top floor of the apartment over the roof tops.

Once Grammie was ready and struggling to get her suitcase closed, I woke up the girls as she protested. They sleepily came up the stairs to give hugs and just a minute later Brayden slunk in too. I had to get one more picture and Brayden suggested I use the timer and get one for everyone. I wasn't expecting a picture with my bedhead, just theirs!

Once we walked her out for final hugs I started up and down the stairs for our packing process. While I do enjoy having the cargo space of a minivan for a short time, I still don't enjoy packing!  We tried to eat all the leftover breakfast food from the fridge and I cooked up some pancakes for quick reheating in the excessive temps we were having.

The day before at Constitution Hall the kids mentioned wanting to go to a hands-on elections exhibit they had that I decided not to buy tickets for. They weren't open until noon so we had a snack and learned more about the Underground Railroad at the visitors center until it was time. I wasn't sure they would let me buy these add-on tickets only, but it turns out he let us in for free! Since it was just opening everyone buying tickets was heading to the live show so we had the "Headed to the White House" exhibit to ourselves for awhile.






They were to learn about the election process and first up was campaign speeches. The read from a teleprompter a speech they selected from either Ronald Reagan or John F. Kennedy. They were all pretty convincing!

They decorated campaign buttons and learned about debates. Then I gave them a topic and they debated! They were not very convincing at all. When asked how they would pay for different programs, two of them were hopeful that donations from taxpayers could cover billions of dollars. If only we could solve our country's problems that easily!







They worked on campaign commercials and emailed them to themselves. They weren't thrilled I made them only do positive ads.











Next they shook hands with a lot of people and pretended to kiss a baby. What fun training for politics!

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, three presidents of the United States!






Ryan had to stop back by to play the politics game again. I'm not sure who won as I was booking a hotel at the time. Temperatures were only to get down to 90 for the night so I was not thrilled about sleeping in the tent for three days. I got us a place pretty close to where we would have been staying so we could still do the same activities but sleep in the cool. I'm all for camping in a tent, but not when I can't sleep!


We made a quick stop at Walmart for photos for journals and made our way to the hotel. The kids were super excited to swim in a pool in the 115 degree day.  Luckily I had remembered from a deep sleep at 2am that the swimming bag was in my getting-fixed-car at the dealership so we could grab it before we left town.

The pool was refreshing and even a little too cold for me! While the kids goofed around I was on the phone a good portion of the time because there was a glitch that was making a reservation in my name at the hotel every 30 minutes. By the time we got it fixed I had 12 rooms reserved in my name!


Once we got back to the room we at sandwiches, relaxed watching Olympics and I planned our next two days. We were all pretty sleepy and the alarm clock just happened to be an hour fast so I tricked talked the kids into going to bed at 9:30 (really 8:30) and we were all snoring within seconds.